by Kevin Manahan, USA TODAY Sports

by Kevin Manahan, USA TODAY Sports

NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, Mass. - As a week-old homicide investigation swirls around Aaron Hernandez, who remains in seclusion, the lawyer who represented former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis in a murder trial in 2000 said Monday that he thought police "are trying to make a murder case on Hernandez by methodically putting all the pieces together."

And while Atlanta attorney Ed Garland insisted he was not second-guessing the New England Patriots tight end's legal team, he thought Hernandez's attorney, Michael Fee, had to speak publicly. Garland's message was simple: Tell the public not to jump to conclusions - and keep telling them.

"At some point, I would be aggressive to state my client's innocence," Garland told USA TODAY Sports. "If all that comes out is negative, it can have an effect on the potential jury. You can't have the public hear one side for too long.

"I can't tell him what to do, because I'm not on the inside. But if you look at what we've done in high-profile cases, I would be inclined to make some statement to the public that says, 'Do not make up your mind until you've heard all the facts.'"

Up to that point, Fee had publicly acknowledged only that there was a homicide investigation involving his client. But shortly after Garland spoke to USA TODAY Sports, Fee issued a statement Monday night - as if he were taking Garland's advice. Kind of.

"Over the past week, our client, Aaron Hernandez, has been the subject of a relentless flood of rumors, misinformation and false reports in the media," the statement said. "These include the repeated publication of a supposedly confirmed report that an arrest warrant had been issued for Aaron, a report that was exposed as untrue. None of these false reports come from official sources and we appreciate the professionalism and restraint shown by the Bristol County District Attorney's Office to date with regard to its public statements while its investigation is underway.

"Out of respect for that ongoing investigation, we will continue to refrain from commenting on its substance."

There was no statement of innocence and no cautioning the public against a rush to judgment, however.

Garland said the leaks Fee likely was alluding to, including reports that Hernandez smashed his cellphone and tampered with surveillance cameras, are working against Hernandez, which is why his attorney had to speak out. And to determine if potential jurors are leaning one way or another, Garland said Hernandez's legal team should be monitoring news and social media.

"Potential jurors begin to form opinions quickly, and once they're formed, it's tough to get an impartial jury," he said. "His lawyer could track the public's responses to what is happening - comments on Twitter, Facebook, stories in the media - and analyze them to determine if he could get a fair trial."

Garland spoke several hours after state police investigators returned to Hernandez's upscale neighborhood for another search Monday. Two divers in scuba gear checked a nearby pond before the team scoured densely wooded areas with metal detectors. According to one member of the six-man search team, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the case, investigators found no evidence during a search that began at 10:45 a.m. ET and lasted about an hour.

Garland, who also represented Pittsburgh Steelers star Ben Roethlisberger against sexual assault allegations in 2010, said the defense likely has launched its own investigation.

State police questioned Hernandez and searched his home June 18, the day after the body of a friend, semipro football player Odin Lloyd, was found dead. Lloyd, 27, had been shot in the head. He was discovered in an empty lot of an industrial park, roughly a half-mile from Hernandez's home.

On Saturday, police returned to Hernandez's home with a swarm of investigators and two police dogs for nearly four hours. They concentrated on the house, a large playhouse in the back yard that Hernandez uses as a doghouse, nearby woods and Hernandez's white SUV, which was parked in the driveway.

Investigators left with approximately a dozen bags. A spokeswoman for the Bristol County District Attorney's office declined to comment Monday on that search and the divers, saying the office would make a statement when there was a development in the case.

Last week, there were several reports that an arrest warrant had been issued for Hernandez for obstruction of justice, but a clerk in the district court office repeated Monday that no warrant had been issued for anyone in the case by the close of business.

David Siegel, a professor of law at New England Law Boston, said it's possible police want to make sure they have solid evidence before making an arrest or clearing Hernandez as a suspect in Lloyd's death.

"There's no magic to police going to search a place three times as opposed to one, but I also think that law enforcement tends to be particularly careful when there's a high-profile kind of possible suspect," Siegel said. "They may anticipate higher scrutiny of their work if it ends up incriminating someone, and they might be concerned there is excessive public interest and pressure to rush to judgment."

Garland, meanwhile, thinks the media staking out Hernandez's home has a long wait.

"If (police) thought they had an absolute cinch, an indefensible charge, they might, for some strategic purpose, bring a preliminary charge like obstruction," Garland said.

"But there is extensive crime lab work to be done. They're chasing down witnesses. What are the phone records, the content of text messages? What phone numbers are involved? Who was he calling? What was he saying? Are there fingerprints? Whose are they? My inclination is this will take a substantial period of time."